Posts
344
Joined
4/24/2025
Location
Central, NJ, USA
The off-season is nearly here in the northeast and I'm looking for a comparable off-season activity. Going to the track and spinning a few laps once or twice a month is quite literally like a brain reset for me. It does for me what going on vacation is supposed to do for you like relieving stress and improving overall wellness. When I'm on a bike everything else necessarily falls away and my focus is forced onto riding. I have yet to find something comparable to do in the winter when I can't ride. What do you guys do to fill the time when there is snow on the ground?
Beer league hockey! Not just for the off season, but year-round 1 or 2 nights a week of pure fun!
Yea no shit. Just be glad your not staring at hanging it up for good. Everybody gets old. I’m at the point where I’m gonna have to start living vicariously. Very hard pill to swallow. Enjoy your off-season lol
Few ideas:
Zwift (indoor virtual cycling)
Running
Shooting practice
Gym/lifting
Rebuild your dirtbike
Restore an old vintage bike
Upgrade your garage setup / other home projects
Read books
Track riding is mostly year round here and mountain biking for the most part. Just have to deal with conditions less than ideal.
But when it’s snowy, I do fat tire biking, snow shoeing, cross country skiing. Used to snowboard regularly but the resorts have priced me out and the traffic insane.
The indoor shooting range is a great way to relieve stress. I also ramp up my running in winter but at 50, my knees are getting a little tired of long distances.
The Shop
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Coaching high school hockey. It is fun and provides a good laugh sometimes.
I'm in the gym 2-3 times a week lifting. I'm looking for a moto replacement where I get that same kind of relief/satisfaction/forced focus. Cycling (especially indoors) does not force your focus like riding does, running is the same thing, and the others are just things I do as needed. I've been riding for 34 years now and going on the track doesn't really give me much of an adrenaline rush anymore but when you're on a bike there is literally nothing else. I want that feeling in the winter.
Football and home projects for me.
Spear fishing
Salmon fishing
Learning drums
Weight training
Kayaking
Drawing
Fucking
Amongst other shenanigans
No way my wife goes for car racing. I've jokingly tried and have been told that I can start doing that when we win the lottery.
Fishing isn't much of an option where I'm at and in the past I've found that ice fishing involves more beer drinking than it does catching fish. Ain't got a musical bone in my body and I don't think that will scratch the itch I have for escaping and the same goes for drawing. I'm already lifting and uh am happily married.
Really looking for a winter activity that provides the escape of moto. Maybe its tennis or basketball. Something that forces you to focus and eliminates other distractions.
Most of these are my winter plans…I always freshen up my bikes, almost always have a vintage project, I need to finish insulating and drywalling my garage.
Wi winters can be long, but I do coach our school districts bball team (6th grade this year). Forces us out of the house on winter weekends when it’s easy to sit in the house..
Of course workout 3x a week or so to keep in shape for next season MX..
Forced focus? I play with pellet guns from time to time.
It’s fun hitting dimes at 250’. Plus, pellets are cheap.
Find an indoor carting league. Chasing lap times and competition can be fun.
Check out the BLACK line along this rock. It's like that all the way up the canyon.
"Snow?" What is that?
Seriously, though, I'm trying to remember the last time I saw snow, I think it was about 45 years ago. Wow 😲
We are the opposite of you guys. It's finally riding season after the FURNACE has been turned off. It goes from frickin' blazing hot to perfect.
This is my third ride on this 300 after I got it back around May. It's a 23XC and had 13 hours on it. She now has 20.
I have to say the bike can be a handful and it keeps you more on your toes than my 350 and I was riding it today in the white mode. It was too slippery for the aggressive green button! 😲 I did try it, as we were headed back to the trucks on some open road. And damn this bike RIPS!
I think I need to get a new seat. Any of you guys have suggestions?
Forced focus as in when you are riding a dirt bike your mind is only focused on riding a dirt bike. You have to be locked into what you're doing or you're going to crash. I really enjoy that aspect of riding and would like to find an activity that gives that feeling when I can't ride because there is snow on the ground. Snowmobiles aren't really practical where I live.
I have a 2025 KTM150 sx and am 6'2". I bought a KTM Power Parts complete tall seat. In 30+ years of riding I think it is the single most impactful mod I have ever done outside of having the suspension done. I would assume that going with a shorter seat would have a similar benefit for someone who is shorter than average. If you are on either side of average height then I would suggest getting a seat that fits your height. I don't think you could beat the fit and finish of the KTM Power Parts seat so i'd recommend even stock height in that brand.
Looks like an awesome place to ride.
I'm 38, I've literally been ice skating one time for like 5 minutes, and I hated it. I'm confident I could learn to ice skate proficiently in a year or two, but I'm also confident that it would take like 3 years to even approach a hockey game. I appreciate what those guys do on the ice, but there's just no way hockey is ever gonna happen for me.
Pit Row
Those pics are cool. But 45 years sense you last saw snow! That’s wild, we pretty much get at least a little snow up here in the NW every year. Even right now where I live, a 30 minute drive and I could be in snow. I live at the foothills of the N Cascade mountains.
Thanks I will check it out.
Edit: I just tried looking for that seat. Could not find it. Which website do you use?
Spent about $600 on protective parts for the bike and tires, heavy duty tubes etc. Damn, stuff is so expensive these days.
I'm 5'9" so I definitely don't need a taller seat, need something with better padding. It's kind of weird pushing down on it with your hand it feels fine, but after doing 60 or 70 miles, not so much. 😬
https://www.motosport.com/dirtbike/ktm-powerparts-seats
As above I also recommend shooting.
I love shooting and can finally own handguns where I am now here in NI (currently have a Glock 45 and CZ P10F). Only part of the UK where it's possible. Also do some archery.
Home "gym" (nothing complicated) is a MUST in this day and age. Middle aged blokes get overweight easy and commercial gyms have become increasingly awkward and expensive.
Learning a 2nd language.
AI for better or worst is an absolute game changer in terms of learning a language.... It's almost as good as having your own dedicated tutor. You can just ask it anything, to test you in any way you can think of, in any way it thinks of etc. It takes me in new directions all the time.
Lastly, gaming.
It's snowboarding for me, the required focus is the only thing I've found similar to moto where everything else in your mind disappears, but not sure you have that available in your area.
Poconos are reasonably close. I did snowboard a couple of times while in CO and did enjoy it. Definitely gave myself a concussion falling back on my heel side.
Yes that can happen! That's one of the reasons you can never let your focus drop. Not saying that's what you did because it happens to everybody, but it can definitely catch you especially if you aren't paying attention. I've learned that the hard way a few times.
I would try skiing if my ankle wasn't toast. Somehow I can still snowboard with my bad ankle in the back, but I assume skiing takes the same type of concentration and focus. And at least you are always pointed forward.
Naked leap frog is a good form of recreation.
Same thing happened to me once, and I spent the next 1/2 hr. looking for my friends who weren't even there.
Thankfully, I wasn't that bad, but I definitely "rang my bell." I had fun on the mountain and it's certainly something I will consider trying again.
G-man
I’ve been real happy with GUTS as a cover. They have a ribbed option that will hold you in place and not let you slide back, or at least your pants. If you wear your pants pretty loose your ass might still move back!!!
I haven’t tried a full seat replacement from them though, just a new cover. FYI, if you do a cover you will need a decent stapler, probably pneumatic. A regular Home Depot spring type staple gun won’t get it done.
A couple years ago I got into the Mini RC crawlers. They are super fun to kill some time through the winter months.
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